Food & Drinks in Spanish (pt. 4) – Lesson 36

Food and drinks in Spanish: part 4

This is the final part of our food and drinks series! So far we learned the drinks, the basic foods and 4 meals of the day, and fruits, salt, pepper and oil. Today: cheese, meat, fish, dairy and some sweet things.

Cheese and ham

Two of the most important words if you’re ever in Spain! In queso, the u is silent: “KE-so”. In jamón, the j is that strong, throaty h, and the stress is on the end because of the tilde: “ha-MON”. And yes: a bocadillo de jamón y queso is a classic.

Meat

We saw a few of these in the restaurant lesson. Remember the pattern? Spanish says “meat of the animal”: carne de vaca (meat of cow) is beef, carne de cerdo (meat of pig) is pork.

La ternera is meat from a young cow, so “veal”. But in Spain, ternera is also the everyday word for beef in general, so you’ll see it on almost every menu. And remember from part 3 of the restaurant: steak is el bistec or el filete.

Fish and seafood

Pescado is fish as food. A fish swimming in the sea is un pez. There are tons of different fish, and I won’t go through them all here. But if you have a favorite fish, look up its Spanish name and put it on your list, so you can order it at a restaurant!

Ice cream and ice

As always, the h is silent: “e-LA-do” and “YE-lo”. And they’re related: helado literally means “frozen” or “iced”, and hielo is ice. You saw los cubitos de hielo (ice cubes) in the restaurant lesson.

Dairy, cream and yogurt

Los lácteos (or los productos lácteos) is what you’ll see in the supermarket for dairy. It comes from leche (milk), believe it or not: they both go back to the Latin word for milk.

Yogurt is el yogur, and you’ll also see yogurt written the English way. In Spain, cream for cooking is often called la nata.

Smoothies: batido or licuado?

Smoothie fans (like me): in Spain it’s a batido, from batir (to blend, to whisk). In countries like Argentina and Mexico you’ll hear licuado, which looks like “liquid”: makes sense for a drink! These days, many places also just say smoothie.

Flavors: el sabor

Same pattern again: “flavor of banana”, “ice cream of chocolate”. Once you get used to that de, it’s easy.

Recap: food and drinks (part 4)

Spanish	English
el queso	the cheese
el jamón	the ham
la carne	the meat
el pollo	the chicken
la carne de vaca	beef
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■
■■■■■■■■	■■■■■■■■

+ 11 more words & phrases

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Practice: food

Say it out loud first, then click to check.

1. Order a ham and cheese sandwich (on a baguette).

Un bocadillo de jamón y queso, por favor.

2. How do you say “pork”?

Carne de cerdo.

3. Fish on your plate, or fish in the sea?

On your plate: el pescado. In the sea: el pez.

4. Ask a friend “What flavor do you want?”

¿Qué sabor quieres?

5. Order a chocolate ice cream.

Un helado de chocolate, por favor.

6. Order a banana smoothie in Spain.

Un batido de plátano, por favor.

Quiz: food in Spanish (part 4)

10 questions to finish the food series. ¡Que aproveche!

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between jamón serrano and jamón ibérico?

Both are Spanish cured hams. Jamón serrano comes from white pigs and is the everyday one. Jamón ibérico comes from Iberian pigs: it’s more expensive and many people think it’s the best ham in the world. Try both!

Is it “el yogur” or “el yogurt”?

The official spelling is yogur, but yogurt is very common too, especially in Latin America. Both are understood.

Before you go to the next lesson

That’s it: the food and drinks series is complete! With these 4 parts you can order, eat and drink your way through any Spanish-speaking country. Grab the free reference sheet below. See you in lesson 37. ¡Buen provecho!